Between Fire and Ice
by painkillerjane
Summary: She doesn't know why she can't stop. She is the most intelligent and accomplished Witch of her age and yet she is baffled by her inability to keep away from Draco. He is the ice in her life that drags her down and pulls her away from the fiery passion that is Ron. She must choose, but which path, she is unsure of. After all some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice...
1. Meeting at Midnight

_**A/N: This is written for RavenclawRealty for the HPFC Summer Fic Exchange. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you!**_

_**Also, I apologize for any SPaG errors and the like, I didn't have it beta'd (I'm always in need of a good beta!)**_

Chapter 1: Meeting at Midnight

She's not sure how this happened only that it did. Repeatedly. She grabs her wand, righting her robes and tucking her hair behind her ear, preparing to apparate. She glanced at the sleeping figure, her heart lodges in her throat as he throws one arm out as if reaching for her. He stills, the moonlight trickling in from the double french doors illuminating his pale hair making it gleam bright and silver.

She never knew that passion could be found in the arms of a former enemy. Not that her life with Ron lacked passion, but this was a different kind of passion. It was electric and vibrant, and at the same time it was cold and calculating. It was intellectual and measured, timed to a measure of song that only the two could hear. Above all else, however, it was wrong. Wrong beyond measure, it was something befitting of a _Slytherin _not a Gryffindor.

Her eyes widened as Draco stirred once more. All in one motion she grabbed her travelling cloak and apparated away. She slipped out of a dark alley two blocks down the street from the apartment she shared with Ron in muggle london.

Ron.

What would she tell him this time? He was so trusting, never questioned her, always greeted her with a warm smile and kiss that churned her insides and froze her heart. It was crushing her, the weight of the guilt and lies, but if she confessed it would crush him. She loved him with all her heart.

But she also loved Draco.

They were two different kinds of love. With Ron everything was hot. It was a fire that consumed her, brought her to the edge and melted her. She loved him, with her heart and soul, as she should. With Draco though, it was an icy romance like jagged glass. It was a battle of wits and intellect. It was a coldness that extinguished the fire inside her and left her with a peaceful emptiness. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself even though there was no wind blowing. The coldness she felt was from within and she hurried towards her fire.

Reaching her front door, she tapped the door knob twice and then slipped in her key. The fire in the hearth was dying, but the warmth she felt was coming from the red-head slumped over on the couch fast asleep. She smiled and took her cloak off stepping silently towards him. She lost herself in the light reflected in his hair. The silky copper strands entrancing her. Her mind reeled in a clash of emotions. A single tear fell from her eye and slithered down her cheek. She loved _this _man and she would do anything to keep him including shattering the thing she had with Draco.

With her mind made up and the guilt easing, she dried her eyes and touched his face, tracing his brow with her finger wet with her tears. He smiled pushing his face further into her hand.

She knelt in front of him and brought her lips towards his and whispered, "I love you, Ron. You are the fire that fuels my soul."

"I love you, too, Hermione." She gasped as he smiled at her, eyes still closed. "I've missed you today. Come here," He said, opening his arms so she could lay with him.

She scrambled out of her shoes and slipped in besides him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She buried her face in his neck and breathed in his scent. He smelled of parchment, fresh grass, and broom polish. He smelled like heaven to her and she smiled, events of the previous evening forgotten and her mind at peace. As long as she was in his arms she would be happy.

And she would forget about Ice and all her regrets.

Hermione awoke to find herself alone in the den. She panicked for a moment as she re-acquainted herself with her surroundings. She relaxed as she heard Ron bustling around the kitchen and the heavenly scent of bacon beckoned her to get up. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen and watched him work. She loved their mornings together. He would make her a big breakfast and send her off to work with a wonderful lunch. In many ways he was just like Molly. After the war he embraced himself, grew out of his shy stage and became a great man. He was always great, he just didn't believe it. Seeing him whistling while he flipped a pancake was the greatest thing in the world.

She mentally prepared a note to Draco. She would tell him that whatever they had between them was over. She nodded and turned, heading up the stairs to write the letter.

Writing the letter was easier than she had imagined it, and on some small level deep within it broke her heart.

She showered and dressed and proceeded downstairs to have breakfast with Ron. She was ready to view the day with renewed energy and a different outlook.

After breakfast, they walked hand in hand to the phone booth and entered the Ministry of Magic together. They parted ways at the elevator where she descended to the Department of Mysteries leaving Ron behind at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement where he worked with Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Seamus. She exited the lift and greeted the ever dreamy Luna. Luna was her research partner.

"Good Morning, Luna," she said, smiling at her partner.

"Hermione," Luna greeted, her dreamy smile still on her face. "I prepared the presentation reports for the Wizengamot."

"Perfect." She stopped short as the smile left her ethereal friends face. "What is it, Luna?"

Luna pointed down the hall, "He won't leave. He's in your office."

"Who?"

Luna shook her head, "He's up to something, the flufferflies keep hovering around his head."

She looked at Luna quizzically and continued towards her office and pushed open her door. Sitting in her chair was the last person she wanted to see.

"Draco, what are you doing here," she hissed, quickly closing the door behind her. "Didn't you get my owl this morning?"

"I did," he drawled, "but I do not accept the terms as you outlined them."

"Well," Hermione said huffily, "you don't have a choice. I refuse to see you anymore." She took a step back as he rounded the desk. She knew if he touched her she would lose her resolve.

He stopped at the edge of her desk. "'Mione, love, you can't just _end_ things like that." He looked hurt, and desperate.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I really am, but I can't live like this anymore. The guilt is eating me up inside." She took a deep steadying breath. "I've chosen and this is final. Now if you please, I have a busy schedule to keep."

In a swift motion, he had embraced her. "Hermione, please," he whispered.

She needed to be clear, she couldn't do it anymore. As much as it hurt her to see him this way, he needed to understand.

"I'm sorry, Draco."

He held her tighter, his face buried in her neck. Her arms hung loosely at her side. She couldn't show him any affection and that restriction choked her up.

"Hermione," he said, breathing down her neck. "I need you. I'm lost without you."

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"I love you," he whispered. "Come away with me. I can give you everything your heart desires."

"No," she whispered, "you can't."

"I promise you I can," he pleaded. He snaked one hand up to cup her face, resting his forehead against hers. He stared into her eyes, rooting her to the spot. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. He had revealed a side of himself to her that no one other than his mother knew existed. He was still arrogant to everyone.

Everyone but her.

He broke the silence with a kiss so fierce she felt like she was drowning.

She interrupted the kiss with renewed determination.

"Draco, stop. Stop! Don't make me hex you."

He let her go and looked down at his feet.

"Listen, I never meant to hurt you. I never should have let this happen at all, and I am entirely to blame, but we both have commitments to uphold. You have Pansy and I have Ron."

"Weasley," he growled. "What can he offer you that I can't?"

"His love. His family, and his life. I'm sorry, Draco."

He lifted his chin high in the air. "Right then, Granger," he said her name like it was something distasteful,

"We shall see."

He pushed past her and was through her office door. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Draco," she said, such hurt and lost in her voice.

But he didn't hear her

Draco stormed down the hall, exuding anger, his magic wild and uncontrolled. Doors banged open or shut as he moved towards the lift, those that were locked splintered in half with the force of his magic.

He'd show her. He'd show her that she _needed_ him.

She would see. He would have her, in the end, even if it cost him everything he owned.

No one denied a Malfoy.

_No one._

**_A/N: So, RavenclawRealty, are you ready for chapter 2? :) _**


	2. Calendar

**A/N: RavenclawRealty, I'm sorry for the wait! work has been hectic, but here is chapter 2. It's not exactly what I wanted, but it proved essential to move forward. Drama to ensue!**

**I own nothing!**

* * *

_It's said if you don't let it out_

_You're gonna let it eat you away_

_Put another X on the calendar_

_Summer's on its deathbed_

_There is simply nothing worse_

_Than knowing how it ends_

_And I meant everything I said that night_

_I will come back to life_

_But only for you_

~P!ATD, "The Calendar"

Chapter 2: The Calendar

The days moved on with agonizing slowness. They hovered over his bed, taunting him as the memory of Hermione's break up haunted him. If she could only see him now; but no, that was impossible because she preferred the company of Harry Potter's side kick.

Draco scrunched his eyes in an attempt to dam his tears. He buried his face into his pillow and screamed in agony. His chambers were a mess mirroring his physical appearance. His normally shiny hair was matted and greasy. His alabaster skin was mottled and grey, dark patches under his eyes sucked the silver grey from them. His clothes hung limp on his starved frame.

Without Hermione, he was a wreck. She had wrecked him. Strung him along, made him _feel_ and then just severed him. Cut him to pieces with rejection and left him in the sharp shards of his shattered heart. He didn't know how to function now. There was nothing that interested him, nothing to look forward to. He lost it all.

The only thing he had couldn't buy with all of his inherited wealth was precisely what he most wanted. He could probably buy the world twice over and still feel empty. His money could never win her back.

Or could it?

He shot up in bed, eyes wide and twinkling. _Maybe. _It was worth the effort if it meant he could feel her warm breath on his neck again. If he gave her what she most wanted and needed, then maybe he could get her back.

His mind racing, plotting, scheming the details, his heart reeling at the thought of reuniting with its match.

It just might work, he thought. A slow smile crept over his face, his regal demeanor slowly coming back to life.

Maybe.

Maybe was better than being a wreck.

Oh, yes. Yes, _maybe_ might just be the answer.

"Flora!" The house elf popped into the dark corner of the room a second after her name was bellowed.

"Master Malfoy, how very nice it is to hear you say Flora's name! Flora has been worried sick because Master has not eaten and is sleeping in his filth." The little house elf moved around the room magicking everything back to its proper place. She snapped her fingers twice and had a hot meal and coffee on the nightstand.

"Yes, yes, you little pest. Now after you get my bath in order I have a little assignment I need you to do."

Flora's big eyes sparkled at his request. "Yes, Master," she squealed in delight, "Whatever master wishes.

He looked at her in her little flowered tea cozy and sneered. "It has to do with Hermione."

Her big eyes grew wide covering most of her dainty face. "Mistress Hermione?"

He nodded.

The worried look on the house-elf's face went unnoticed by Draco, who was busy circling dates with his wand on the day planner by his bed.

She sighed at the frenzy in which her master worked and with a soft _pop_ she was gone.

Draco stood back and smiled at all the new marks on his calendar. Instead of counting down the days he was without her, he would mark off the days that would bring him closer to her.

Satisfied, he sat and ate his lunch, his appetite reawakened by the prospect of the future.

Luna followed close behind Hermione, both arms loaded with files, as they made their way to the conference room the Wizengamot used for project biddings. It was a new system they were using to encourage Muggle and Wizard interaction on projects that affected both worlds set up a year after the fall of Voldemort.

Even though she was the head of her department, Hermione still had to present her preliminary research to the board. She still had to convince the silent partners that her projects were important.

The majority of the wizards and witches on the board followed the vote of Harry, it was typically the muggles she had to convince, and explain over and over again the simplest of concepts. It wasn't that they were dumb, far from it, these were some of the most accomplished men and women of the muggle world; it was only that they were unfamiliar with the details of their world. Things they thought were impossible were the things that were the norm and these facts astounded them. They would interrupt presentations with eager requests for a display of levitation or transfiguration.

Luna of course never minded the length of these meetings, she usually sat at Hermione's side handing out packets or simply staring dreamily into the air above the muggles heads making small comments about the Lifterlees trying to steal the muggle coins or some other equally invisible creature usually causing even more questions.

This meeting was already proving to be as tedious as the others. She pulled her wand out of

her sleeve and pushed through the massive doors to the conference room and floated all their documents to disperse to each available seat as she headed to the head of the table to take her seat. Luna skipped to her seat, plucking something invisible from her chair before sitting down.

Hermione sent her a questioning look.

"I didn't want to smush the Springing Harpy dozing on my chair," she said by way of answer.

Hermione smiled at Luna. Even though her partner could _see_ all these magical creatures that no one else seemed to, it was something that put her at ease in stressful situations.

The doors swung open and in poured the members of the Wizengamot and the silent partners.

A flash of silver caught her eye.

Striding between an ancient wizard Hermione recognized as the record keeper for the Wizengamot and an American Muggle Oil Tycoon was the one person she never thought would find his way into her work life. Chin held high, face plastered with the usual arrogant mask was Draco.

Hermione felt a whirl of emotions at his presence. She was shocked, curious, but mostly infuriated. She deduced that his money bought him a seat just to be in her life. It was unacceptable.

Completely unacceptable.

After everyone had taken their seat the meeting began. The previous notes were read and the

presentations soon began.

Hermione kept shooting scathing glares at the blonde making him sneer.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Hermione and Luna were next to present. She stood up quickly, knocking her chair over. She ignored it and moved to the head of the table, flicking her wand as she went making diagrams and charts appear at the center of the long table. She waited for Luna to take her place before she began her theory on Dimensional Tesseracts and set her sights firmly away from the now very attentive blonde.

She magicked the diagrams to flick as she worked her way through her presentation, losing some of the silent partners as she went, which was fine by her, since that meant it would weed out those who would only impede her research. Nearing her conclusion, she noticed that Draco had been keeping pace with all of her rather difficult explanations and equations, taking notes and jotting down questions on a separate sheet of parchment.

"Does the board have any follow up questions," She asked as Luna passed out thick volumes on her preliminary findings for the silent partners to bid on.

Not a single hand shot up as she glanced around the room. She wasn't worried, she knew her research was solid and that someone would bid. A smug smile began playing on her lips as she headed to resume her seat until a single hand slowly, almost languidly, was raised. Her step faltered as she shifted her gaze.

Draco smiled as he stood, clearing his throat, "Mrs. Granger, I have a question."

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded for him to proceed.

"With dimensional tesseracts working on a small scale, as in the one in your test theory, do you find that translation to larger scale proves problematic?"

Hermione was surprised, she knew he was clever, but the level of information he seemed to comprehend after only a preliminary walk through, and without specifics at that, proved his level of intelligence. She nodded, "Yes, Mr. Malfoy, the preliminary findings seem to warp after a twenty percent increase in size and therefore the application with the density seems to be invalid."

The rest of the board and silent partners shuffled through their papers, looking for something they missed to help them comprehend what Draco and Hermione were talking about. They plunged into a lengthy discussion, which Luna attributed occasionally since she was the only other person present that had any bit of understanding.

"Mrs. Granger, I believe it is time for a bid" Harry stated, standing up as he flicked the chart of all the current research projects up for bidding. "Let us begin with yours, since it seems to be the one freshest in our minds, Mrs. Granger."

There was a shuffling of pages and then Mr. Aplebirt began the bids, much like an auction house. The bids rose steadily, first 100,000 Galleons, then 250,000, 300,000, and steadily it climbed.

Everyone present seemed to understand the importance of the research, even if they didn't comprehend the research itself.

Hermione was busy reading the report from that morning's findings she had yet to proof that her eyes were forced up as her bidding was coming to a close.

"Any other bids? I have Mr. Pendelton, with the US WTC, with 2.8 Million standing as the final…"

"I propose unlimited funding, a state of the art muggle facility, and a fully equipped magical facility." Draco crossed his arms, and looked right at Hermione. "The only catch is that I be allowed on the research team."

Hermione knew what he was doing.

"No," she said.

"Can we confer," Luna asked, her breathy voice excited.

"Yes, you may," Mr. Aplebirt stated.

"Hermione! You have to accept Malfoy's offer! It is the best we will ever have! The flufferflies are no longer hovering around him," she squealed. "They've settled on his shoulders!"

Hermione sighed. She knew she had to accept it, but she was hesitant because once she accepted she knew it was only a matter of time before she was trapped, once more, between fire and ice.

She nodded. "Alright, with one condition, Mr. Malfoy."

He nodded for her to continue.

"If we accept, I will be in full control of the funding, and the research, and as such, you will be treated as just an average researcher. Do we have a deal?"

Draco's eyes brightened. "Agreed."

Hermione sat back in her chair, defeated. She got her team what she needed, but at what cost?

* * *

**A/N: A special thanks to: Ravenclawrealty (who this is written for), isabela144, kvance, Hair Like Starlight, Poetic Athena (and all those who just read or I failed to mention) for reviewing, alerting or favoriting my story! Thank you all! (if i didn't mention your name and you've reviewed/alerted/favorited pm me and i will fix it)**


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